Newsletter

Posted May 3, 2014 03:19 pm

Letter: Decline to hate

There’s been a lot of rhetoric about homosexuality lately. It’s a hot topic and the bloggers just can’t get enough. Frequently, proudly stated opinions enshrine the “love the sinner, hate the sin” mentality.

There is no use arguing about homosexuality here, among strangers. The argument occurs within every individual confronted with those feelings. Most who face the struggle do not take it lightly, and their choice is difficult — live as you feel comfortable and face social damnation or tow the traditional line in anguish.

Arguments by non-hetero-normative people for the validity of their experience fall on the deaf ears of their opponents, whose arguments against it are self-righteously fail-safe and unquestionable.

So I’m not arguing about homosexuality, but about hatred.

Hatred is the opposite of love — not simply the absence of love, but rather the same force used in the opposite way.

Hatred for anything arises from pride in ourselves — our belongings, our achievements, our choices, our beliefs. It’s a knee-jerk reaction to disjunction between our inner self and the world around us. We believe we are right, and we see something that so basically goes against our fundamental beliefs, the only way for us to rationalize our view is to declare that thing to be wrong. Drawing on this welling-up of emotion, our wrath explodes, sometimes in private, sometimes on paper or in an electronic forum, sometimes with a physical manifestation of harm.

Act with compassion when you see something you don’t understand. Assume the best in others. Focus your energy positively and for the betterment of all the lives you touch, rather than tearing down nameless others, to whose sorrows and tribulations you can remain ignorant, for perceived flaws or shortcomings.

If we all try to do this on a day-to-day basis, we may find unity despite our differences.